Entrepreneurial Opportunities for Wind-Energy Markets in Three Emerging Economies

Abstract

Wind power is currently perceived as an important source of clean renewable energy and a viable way of decreasing the levels of greenhouse gas emissions. This paper gives an overview of the opportunities and challenges for the emerging wind energy markets in Brazil, China, and South Africa. The specific information on cultural and legal system as well as economic condition in these emerging countries is reviewed briefly. The data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the World Bank, the Global Wind Report, and other public online sources are applied to this study. A practical framework is constructed to explore the relationships among entrepreneurial opportunities of wind energy businesses and their benefits, costs, and risks in these countries. The purpose of this study is to review a practical model that positions the benefits, costs, and risks as well as opportunities and challenges in the three emerging countries. This study begins by exploring the three selected countries in the efficiency-driven economies. Then, this study attempts to compare the wind energy markets in the three countries and highlighting the importance of benefits, costs, and risks for these emerging markets. Furthermore, the discussions for characteristics of opportunities and challenges are performed for the three selected nations. Finally, conclusions and implications are generated for the further study. From this research, it is concluded that there are different perspectives of wind energy business development in Brazil, China, and South Africa. Also, enhancing entrepreneurial opportunities is a good way to overcome the challenges for new business development in the emerging economic markets.